The Swiss capital investigates a pilot plan to allow the sale of cocaine for recreational usea radical approach to the war on drugs that is believed not to have been attempted elsewhere.

Bern’s parliament supported the idea, which still needs to overcome opposition from the city council and will also require a change in national legislation.

Drug policies around the world are evolving; For example, the US state of Oregon will decriminalize possession of small amounts of cocaine in 2021 in favor of drug treatment.

Many European countries including Spain, Italy and Portugal no longer impose prison sentences for drug possessionincluding cocaine, although none has gone as far as the proposal being debated in Bern.

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Switzerland is reexamining its position on drugs, after some politicians and experts criticize complete bans as ineffective, with the proposal – currently in its early stages – following ongoing studies to enable the legal sale of cannabis.

“The war on drugs has failed and we need to look for new ideas,” said Eva Chen, a Bern councilor from the Left Alternative Party that co-sponsored the proposal.

“Control and legalization can be better than mere repression.”

Wealthy Switzerland has one of the highest levels of cocaine use in Europe, based on the levels of illicit drugs and their metabolites measured in wastewater, with Zurich, Basel and Geneva among the top 10 European cities.

Also Swiss cities, including Bern indicate increasing consumptione, while cocaine prices have halved in the past five years, according to Addiction Switzerland, a non-governmental organization.

“Currently we have a lot of cocaine in Switzerland, at the cheapest prices and with the best quality we have ever seen”said Frank Zobel, deputy director of Addiction Switzerland.

“Nowadays you can get a dose of cocaine for about 10 francs (almost $12).”

The Directorate of Education, Social Affairs and Sports in Bern is preparing a report on a possible cocaine test, although this does not mean that it will definitely take place.

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‘Cocaine can be life-threatening for both new and long-term users. The consequences of an overdose, but also individual intolerance to even smaller quantities, can cause death”, said the government of Bern.

Chen, a lawmaker from Bern, said it was too early to say how a pilot plan would work out, including where the drug would be sold or how it would be sourced. “We are still far from possible legalization, but we need to look for new approaches,” Chen said. “That is why we demand that a scientifically guided pilot be carried out.”

In order for a lawsuit to take place, Parliament should amend the law banning recreational use of the drug.

The decision could be made within a few years, or sooner if current cannabis programs – where the drug is sold in pharmacies – produce successful results, political experts said.

Any legalization would come with quality controls and information campaigns, Chen said, and the approach would also curb a lucrative criminal market.

Experts are divided, and even those in favor of the trial are concerned about the potential dangers.

“Cocaine is one of the most addictive substances we know,” says Boris Quednow.group leader at the Center for Psychiatric Research of the University of Zurich.

He said his risks were in a completely different class than alcohol or cannabisciting links to heart damage, stroke, depression and anxiety.

On the other hand, Thilo Beck, from the Arud Center for Addiction Medicine, the largest center for addiction medicine in Switzerland, stated that it is time to adopt a more ‘mature’ policy towards cocaine.

“Cocaine is unhealthy, but the reality is that people are consuming it,” Beck said. “We can’t change that, so we have to try to make sure people use it in the safest and least harmful way.”

Leo, a cocaine user from Geneva, said he was legalizing the drug It would facilitate treatment and reduce violence and crime associated with the supply. It would also facilitate quality control of marketed medicines.

“Ban medicines does not yield good results in terms of health and prevention policyLeo told Reuters. ‘On the contrary, it appears that countries that have chosen to legalize or decriminalize them are achieving better results in prevention and global health policy.

“Switzerland has been brave in its policies towards other drugs, so I think the next step should be the legalization of cocaine.” (JO)